


Finding the Keys

by MayhemWonder



Series: Rattling The Cage [3]
Category: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade, Beyblade
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27743701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayhemWonder/pseuds/MayhemWonder
Summary: Six months after Babel, Kai is finding inner peace, Hiromi is healing, and Yuriy is confused. Roads meet and doors are opened.
Relationships: Boris Kuznetsov | Bryan Kuznetsov/Tachibana Hiromi | Hilary Tachibana, Hiwatari Kai/Yuri Ivanov | Tala Valkov
Series: Rattling The Cage [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029273
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	1. Wednesday

“Are you going to finish your pancake?”

Kai nonchalantly pushed his half-eaten pancake towards Hiromi and she attacked it with no further questions. He wasn’t much of a dessert person, but she had insisted on this cozy little cafe for their weekly catch-up.

At least, it had good AC. Summer in Japan could be brutal, hot and humid, making his shirt stick to his skin and his hair take undignified shapes.

Hiromi didn’t seem to care. She was still focused on his plate. Out of all the things she had missed about Japan, Instagram-worthy souffle pancakes were in the top five, she had informed him. The ones in California apparently just didn’t taste the same.

Kai and Hiromi used to be close when they were still studying, then life happened. She met an American exchange student and moved to San Francisco with him, while Kai found himself swallowed by work.

Their weekly conversations turned into the odd social media thumbs up, thanks to time zones and their busy schedules.

A few weeks ago, Hiromi had texted him that she was back in Japan, after three years in the States. For good this time. Since then, they had talked like they hadn’t in forever.

Hiromi had told Kai everything about her ex, the business major who had snatched her heart, made her move countries, to finally shatter their relationship to pieces in the most painful way possible. She had told him about the nights she had spent sitting on the edge of her balcony, wondering if it wasn’t best to jump.

She had opened her soul, as if they had never stopped being close friends.

So it had only been natural for Kai to tell her about Yuriy.

It hadn’t felt like pulling teeth.

Kai had been longing to tell someone for a while. He was growing tired of living with this secret buried inside his heart, as if hiding a shameful taboo.

He was not ashamed. Or confused. Not anymore.

It had been almost a year since those faithful two weeks in St. Petersburg. Yuriy and Kai had managed to see each other more than expected. In fact, he saw Yuriy more often than he saw his own mother, who lived in the same country and worked for the same company.

Kai had finally attempted to date other people. Interesting people, not just pretty women he thought men in his position should like. However, dating has proven to be as energy consuming as before, and now he had even less free time to give to another human.

So, Kai had stopped seeking. Anyway, in terms of deserving the little time and energy he had to offer, no one even came close to Yuriy. No one soothed his heart like Yuriy. No one could knock the air out of his lungs with a single kiss like Yuriy.

Maybe having just one person a continent away was enough. Maybe having just one person who mattered to him was enough.

He shifted his focus back to Hiromi. Her face was still the same, but she had… _Westernized_. Kai didn’t know if he liked it or now. She was wearing a nice blouse and a pencil skirt, the perfect little businesswoman outfit.

“How was the interview?” Kai asked.

“Fine.” Hiromi said between two bites. “Thanks for recommending me.”

“Anytime.”

Hiromi stared at her spoon, frowning. “I swear, I am not moving countries for a man ever again. I should have done long-distance like you and—”

“—And no one,” Kai cut, his voice ice cold.

Hiromi rolled her eyes. “ _Chill out_ ,” she said in English.

 _Chill out_ was one of the multiple English expressions that now punctuated her sentences.

“No one is paying attention,” she continued in good old Japanese, “if you’re scared, we can give _him_ a code name, like… Yuki.”

Kai sighed. It wasn’t a bad idea, actually.

Hiromi took his silence as an approval. “So. When is the next time you’re seeing… Yuki?”

“Next week, actually. He will be in Osaka.”

“So, he will take the train to Tokyo?” Hiromi asked.

“No. I’ve cleared up my schedule, I am meeting him there, we'll spent the weekend together,” answered Kai.

Hiromi’s mouth opened, as if about to say something, but she closed it almost immediately. She stared at him while finishing her last pancake.

Kai grew a bit irritated. “What?”

She smiled. “Congratulations. You look happy. Really.”

“You make it sound as if Yuki and I are married… or dating. We’re not.”

Hiromi smirked, as if she knew something Kai didn’t. “Oh, but you’re _committed_ , alright? You don’t need any label to be committed to someone.”

“Hiromi, I am too sober for this discussion,” said Kai, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Fine,” she sighed, “we can jump back on the topic later, after a few negroni.”

Then, being the stubborn obnoxious friend she was, she teased, “Or, I could follow you to Osaka and interrogate you both in person.”

Kai leaned over the table, staring her down playfully. “Hiromi. I get to fuck once every blue moon, if you ruin the moment, you’re not getting any other interview recommendation from me ever again.”

Against all odds, Hiromi laughed.

“Gosh, I had missed you.”

* * *

Kai perfectly remembered the conversation during which he had revealed the complex relationship between him and Yuriy to Hiromi.

It was shortly after Hiromi’s return. He had invited her to a networking at Hiwatari Enterprises, an event that was only tolerable after a few glasses of the expensive liquors Kai kept in his office. The evening had been as boring as can be, so they had escaped to Hiromi’s new apartment and gotten even tipsier on Californian wine.

They had lied down on Hiromi’s apartment floor, side to side, staring at the ceiling, too inebriated to move, still too sober to start doing something stupid, like making out.

The thought had apparently crossed Hiromi’s mind as well, because she had broken the silence.

“Kai?”

“Hum”?

“Have you ever been attracted to me?”

“No,” had answered Kai with no hesitation, his voice firm and clear.

It hadn’t been an insult. Just a fact. He had never seen Hiromi as someone he would like to fuck.

“It is because I am a girl?” Hiromi had teased.

A silence. He had tried to lie, but he hadn’t been able to come up with something clever.

“I am not certain,” Kai had been forced to admit.

Another silence had followed. When Hiromi had spoken again, her voice had trembled with concern.

“Kai… you know… I don't mind who you date. But... when I left, you had no one. And now that I’m back… still the same. Was… was there ever someone?”

A gentle euphemism. A million questions condensed in one.

Kai’s answer had stumbled from his lips before he had been able to think it through, “There _is_ someone.”

Hiromi had stirred next to him. Her breathing had sounded more laborious. The “Who is it?” had remained in the air for a long time.

It hadn’t bothered him.

Kai had wanted to tell her.

He had wanted to tell someone for a while. Someone who knew Yuriy and would understand what this man represented for him. Someone who knew both of them and could make sense of this new reality, and not just politely nod.

“I would like to know who it is,” she had finally said, “but I would understand if you do not want to share.”

His heartbeat had increased, the flat suddenly feeling very small.

“Hiromi,” he had threatened, “if this leaves this room--”

Hiromi had interrupted his speech. “Kai. If I repeat even one of your secrets, you’ll know it and I’ll lose your friendship, which would be a worse consequence than anything you could possibly come up with.”

This answer had calmed his fears. He had sunk back to the floor, unable to face her. When he had spoken, his voice had been barely a murmur.

He had told her everything. His failure at dating. His loneliness. Voltaire’s death. The two weeks in St. Petersburg that had turned his universe upside-down. The year that had followed, insane work punctuated by short encounters with Yuriy. Moscow, Warsaw, Vienna. Seoul.

Berlin.

Hiromi had listened. She hadn’t freaked out.

Not on the moment, at least.

Only days later did she reveal how much the whole story had surprised her. Hiromi had made a conscious effort not to show her internal turmoil and give Kai the space he needed to open up.

That’s why they were friends. They got each other. In that sense, Kai was lucky. A dear friend was coming back in town and in a few days, he would be with Yuriy in Osaka.

Hiromi was right. He was happy.


	2. Monday

**The week after  
Monday**

“How was your flight?”

Yuriy smiled as he eased into the taxi’s backseat. Kai’s voice was soothing in his ear. They hadn’t seen each other in two months and neither of them was a phone person. Yuriy had missed that sound.

“Better, once I learned I had been bumped to First Class. You should stop doing that, otherwise I’ll get used to the princess treatment.”

It had happened a few times, Yuriy paid for an Economy seat and upon arriving at the check-in counter, learn that his “assistant” had upgraded his booking. Yuriy was not certain how Kai did it, but he was grateful, nonetheless.

Kai dismissed Yuriy’s protest. “It’s nothing. Accounting won’t even notice.”

“You wouldn’t like the BBA finance team,” Yuriy joked, “these guys go into panic mode if we have a five rubles budget overrun, it’s a nightmare.”

Kai made this short “tsk” sound that he counted for a laugh and then lowered his voice. “Are you alone?”

Yuriy peaked at the driver, who was focused on the road. “Right now, yes. I am in the taxi.”

“I thought Irina Sergeievna was with you?”

“She arrived yesterday,” Yuriy explained. “She’s with her husband. I have a few days of meetings and then the weekend to myself.”

“Are you sure you’re not gonna end up working?”

Yuriy knew that in Kai’s world, a weekend off was a rare luxury. He reassured Kai, “Irina and her husband are going to Nara. She’s been talking about the goddamn deers for a month. Don’t worry, I think she’ll forget that I even exist.”

Kai exhaled with something that sounded like relief. “Ok, so I can meet you at your hotel on Friday.”

“Wow, pressed to get into my pants,” Yuriy laughed. “It’s my first time in Osaka. I’ve never seen that Glico man, so I would like to do that. Then, I’ve heard great things about the local street food, so I suppose someone will have to help me order.”

Yuriy could perfectly picture Kai rolling his eyes, but Yuriy didn’t care. He wanted to see more from Osaka than his hotel room.

“Fine,” Kai agreed, “let’s play tourists for a few hours and then we make it an early night. People know my face in Japan, don’t forget that.”

Yuriy chuckled.

Paranoid as always.

“Deal.”

* * *

**Wednesday**

Kai was usually at the office shortly after eight in the morning, and never left before the sunset. Maybe in a few years he would be able to leave at a reasonable hour, but for now he couldn’t, not when there were still too many higher executives waiting like vultures for his first sign of weakness.

The corporate world, as it turns out, was barely different than high school. Kai made do. It wasn’t as terrible as he had imagined. Captaining a beyblade team had taught everything he needed to know about unruly teenagers.

His position also had its rewarding moments. Whenever he felt like throwing his laptop by the window, he reminded himself that a lot of people depended on him doing what he was doing the right way.

His phone brought him back to reality.

Yuriy was calling him. Bizarre. As far as Kai knew, Yuriy was in Osaka.

“Kai?”

“Yes?”

“There has been… a slight change in schedule,” announced Yuriy, his voice weirdly hesitant.

Kai swallowed, bracing himself for the worst. “What do you mean?”

“Irina Sergeievna and I were supposed to meet a stakeholder in Osaka, but he invited us directly to his headquarter… in Tokyo. I am in Tokyo. In fact… you won’t believe me, but I am about 500 meters away from the Hiwatari Enterprises tower,” Yuriy explained.

A silence fell. Kai’s mind started racing. The words naturally stumbled from his mouth before he could think them through.

“Do you want to come in later tonight and see my office?”

With a deep, raspy chuckle, Yuriy answered, “Why do you think I’m calling.”

* * *

_Later that evening_

Yuriy hadn’t realized how massive the Hiwatari Tower was until he found himself at the bottom of it. _Skyscraper_ , he had always found that word interesting. From his position, it indeed seemed like the tower made one with the sky, as some sort of Mount Olympus belonging to the gods.

Irina was off to a sushi dinner date, leaving Yuriy alone.

Finally. He couldn’t believe he would finally see Kai, after two months. Two very long months.

Yuriy had mocked Kai in the taxi, but he too was excited to see his… former teammate.

_Former teammate._

Friend with benefits.

Long-distance fuckboy.

Whatever it was.

Funny how their dynamic had changed in a year.

When Kai had assured he would keep in touch, Yuriy hadn’t managed to believed him. Promises were easy to make on the spot, but difficult to keep six time zones away. Maybe Kai wore rose-colored glasses, but Yuriy certainly didn’t. The redhead hadn’t expected to see his spare key ever again.

But the young Hiwatari, as always, had been full of surprises. Getting laid had apparently hammered some manners in his pretty head. Kai had promised he would keep in touch, and to Yuriy’s surprise, he had. They had texted semi-regularly. Whenever a possibility arose to spend time together, Kai cleared his schedule as much as he could, even for a few hours. Of course, they had snapped at each other a couple of times, but that had to be expected. Overall, every encounter had been nicer than the one before and Yuriy had found himself slowly melting, comforted by the thought that perhaps this time, Kai indeed _cared_.

Yuriy entered the building on these thoughts, hoping he looked presentable. He was wearing a suit Kai had approved, but a full day of meetings and a jetlag-fueled fatigue had probably tampered his looks.

The reception desk was… impressive. The decor was functional and elegant, without being reduced to that minimalist bullshit that was slowly becoming the norm. The whole place felt sleek and efficient, expensive in its precision.

He didn’t have time to analyze further, as he was immediately greeted by another foreigner, a redhead woman in her forties almost as tall as Kai. She spoke to him in Russian.

“Yuriy Alekseivitch? Nice to meet you, I am Natalia. Please follow me.”

She handed him an access card and escorted him to the elevator.

Yuriy glanced at the card. His information and picture had been printed on it, as if he had been a regular. The picture had been taken directly from his passport. How did they pull that off without him being present, he had no idea.

“Every guest must register at the front,” Natalia explained as if reading his thoughts, “we had this card done prior to your arrival so you wouldn’t waste time downstairs. We understand you had a busy day.”

Yuriy nodded. Then, he noticed another bizarre detail.

“The buttons are outside the elevator.”

Natalia smiled. “Correct. You need to scan your keycard before entering the floor number you want to go to. For security reasons, you won’t have access to every floor in the building.”

“Naturally,” Yuriy said, as if this was common occurrence.

The elevator made no noise at all as it brought them to the desired floor. After a short ride, the doors opened on a face he knew too well.

“Ivanov.”

Yuriy’s heart skipped a beat.

There he was.

Kai Hiwatari, dressed head to toes in Armani, arms crossed on his chest and leaning on the wall, in Kai’s signature pose. Yuriy remembered this suit, he had tossed it across the room once and then Googled the price out of curiosity afterwards, when Kai had been in the shower. A terrible idea. Yuriy didn’t need to know the blazer alone costed more than his laptop.

Yuriy smiled. “Hiwatari.”

Kai was a stunning individual, there was no way around it. He had a fascinating face. Some Renaissance artist would have itched to sculpt him, he was that gorgeous.

Yuriy should have been used to him by now, but the first few seconds of seeing him again always knocked the wind out of his lungs a little.

Kai spoke to the woman, “Thank you, Natasha. I’ll take it from here.”

The redhead gave a polite nod and then went on her way.

Yuriy and Kai shook hands, as if they were colleagues, and Yuriy allowed himself to squeeze Kai’s hand a bit longer than necessary.

“So, she’s your assistant?” Yuriy asked.

“No. She’s Head of Security, former FSB. Cost a fucking fortune to bring her here. She picked you up so you wouldn’t have to go through the registration hassle.”

Yuriy raised an eyebrow. “Head of Security?”

Kai smirked uncomfortably. “It might come as a surprise, but I am not everyone’s favourite person. Lots of people are not happy I am in this position, and my family is no stranger to… trouble.”

 _Crime_ , Kai meant crime.

The next half an hour was spent pretending they were merely acquaintances. Kai gave him a tour of Hiwatari Enterprises. Kai had visibly done this a few times, he knew what to show and what details to give. He talked about the interior design decisions and the history of the company. Yuriy listened with unwavering attention. The whole space was exquisite, it had the luxurious feel of a hotel, but the breathable efficiency of an office. People spoke in soft, reserved voices, and gave Kai respectful glances when he passed nearby.

Yuriy felt a universe away from the noisy and casual feel of the Russian BBA.

He felt a universe away from the Kai he had come to know.

After having visited a few conference rooms, they arrived at Kai’s personal office. Top floor, of course. The hawk in his nest, the king in his throne room.

Yuriy had seen quite a few beautiful offices, but Kai’s was something else. It was gorgeous. The back wall consisted only of windows that stretched from floor to ceiling and offered a breathtaking view on Tokyo. The decoration was tasteful, and everything looked effortlessly expensive. He could almost picture his architect ex marveling at the wooden furniture.

Yuriy found himself clinging to clues that this place indeed belonged to Kai. An empty iced coffee plastic cup on the desk. Dranzer, in a protected glass cube. A scarf lazily tossed on the chair.

Yuriy had always been aware that Kai was massively rich, like some sort of default information in the back of his mind. However, this was the first time he really saw just how wealthy he was.

A picture was worth a thousand words, but a live experience was worth a novel.

Up until recently, Yuriy had been poor. _Dirt fucking poor_ , as Bryan put it. So poor that living paycheck to paycheck was considered luxurious because at least, you still made it to the next month.

Yuriy had always known his academic dreams would never put food on the table, so he had ditched beyblade for a proper job and had never looked back. Now, although he wasn’t rich, he was certainly comfortable, and once in a while he looked back and felt quite proud of himself.

But compared to Kai, Yuriy was still dirt fucking poor, there was no way around it. And Yuriy was just starting to see the length of the gap between them.

Naturally, they made their way to the back of the office. The windows gave view on the city below them. Kai turned off the lights and they found themselves plunged in darkness, the only source of light coming from the city below them. The feeling was surreal.

After a while, Kai broke the silence.

“You’re not saying anything.”

“Nice cage.”

The parallel made Kai smile. “It’s fine.”

Yuriy looked at him and he had the impression of seeing Kai for the first time. CEO Kai.

Yuriy shoved his own insecurities in the back of his mind. Kai finally opened his universe, now wasn’t the time for a pity party. Yuriy switched the topic with a playful, “You ever fucked in that office?”

The question took Kai by surprise. “What? No.”

Yuriy smirked. “Pity. You should try.”

Kai scoffed, but didn’t answer.

The redhead continued, “I don’t understand how you could struggle to date. Look at this view! You just have to bring someone here and be like… ‘ta-dahhh’ and then unzip your pants.”

Kai gave him an eye roll. “You’ve been spending too much time with Kuznetsov.”

“Meh, he’s depressed these days. He broke up with his psycho girlfriend, and now he’s on toxic relationship withdrawal.”

“Sounds healthy,” Kai said scrunching his nose.

“Yeah.”

After another moment of silence, Yuriy dared, “So… do you have any plans for dinner?”

Kai widened his eyes. Maybe he had assumed Yuriy would be in and out of his office, but Yuriy had nothing else planned until his train tomorrow morning.

“I was seeing Hiromi,” Kai answered flatly.

“Oh,” Yuriy said his joyful tone suddenly dropping, “I’ll leave you guys then.”

“Actually,” Kai said while grabbing his phone and texting, “you could join. I don’t think she would mind. Let me ask.”

Yuriy tilted. This was new. Kai had always made a point to keep him separated from his life in Japan. He didn’t have to ponder on this for long, as Kai explained, “She knows.”

Yuriy nodded, unsurprised. Hiromi and Kai’s friendship was a famous one back in the days.

Kai’s eyes went to Yuriy and he continued, “She is… the only person who knows.”

Yuriy wasn’t surprised. Kai kept a lot of secrets from a lot of people. During their last encounter, in Seoul, Kai had explained how wonderful it had been to join his Japanese team and for once in his life, be no one. To exist solely as a grouchy young man named Kai and nothing else.

Kai was also notoriously private about his dating life. After Kai had left St. Petersburg a year ago, Yuriy had almost been expecting an NDA in his mail.

“Really? You haven’t let it slip a few times?” Yuriy teased.

Kai ignored the mockery and gave a faint smile. “I assume you have.”

“Oh, I didn’t _let it slip_ ,” Yuriy corrected, “I just informed a couple of people why I disappear every other month. Ella knows, but she can’t be bothered. I could rail a dolphin, and she wouldn’t give a fuck.”

“Thanks for the visual,” answered Kai dryly.

Yuriy took a few seconds to choose his next words, wondering how to break the new. He went with raw honesty.

“Kuznetsov knows too.”

Kai’s smile fell. “I assume he wasn’t happy.”

“ _Fucking disgusting_ were his exact words,” said Yuriy placidly.

Kai chuckled. “Flattering.”

Yuriy attempted to reassure him and fought the need to grab his hands in his.

“It’s fine. His dating pool is the top right corner of the Hot/Crazy Scale. He has no lessons to give me… I don’ care about his opinion on who I choose to see.”

The low humming of Kai’s phone interrupted them. Kai glanced at the screen and announced, “Hiromi said yes and she’s really excited to see us.”

* * *

_Later that evening_

Kai thanked his instinct to invite Yuriy. Yuriy and Hiromi, who, before this evening, had exchanged a total of maybe six words in ten years, got along without an issue. Kai spent most of the evening listening to them discuss the reverse culture shock of coming back to their own countries.

Hiromi explained how it had taken her a few weeks to readjust to the eerie calm of Japan and how pleasant it was to go for walks alone at night without being bothered. Yuriy compared the German and Russian fashion in great details, pictures as supporting material.

 _So there was a reason why people looked homeless_ , thought Kai, remembering his latest escapade in Berlin.

Finally, at the end of the meal, Yuriy excused himself. Hiromi spoke the moment he got out of view.

“I’m sorry.”

Kai frowned in confusion. “For what?”

Hiromi poked at her dessert, a chocolate molten cake that only waited to be split in half. “I just couldn’t wrap up my mind around the two of you… but now that I see what kind of dynamic you have, your… situation makes a lot of sense. So sorry for doubting your judgement.”

Kai stared at her. He hadn’t gotten the impression Hiromi had been shocked, but she was more than able to keep a secret if needed, a quality he thanked her for.

“Thank you for being honest, I suppose,” Kai attempted.

She smiled. “And you’re still spending the weekend in Osaka together?”

“Yes. I need to bring him to all the touristy spots, which I hate, but what choice do I have.”

Hiromi’s smile fell and she looked at Kai pensively.

“You love him.”

The words punched Kai in the stomach.

Time skipped a few seconds and when Kai came back to Earth, Hiromi was still staring at him, playing with her spoon.

“What? No, I…”

Hiromi laughed. “That’s ok, let it sink in.”

Then, as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb, Hiromi finally attacked her cake. The melted chocolate pooled in her plate like a freshly opened wound.

Kai shook his head, attempting to regain composure, “I don’t-“

“Kai, it’s fine,” Hiromi cut, “I’m not judging you.”

Kai attempted to regain his composure and suddenly felt keenly aware of the people at the nearby tables. This was too much. Too heavy. His world started spinning.

Love? Was this love? Had he fallen that hard already?

Hiromi looked at him pensively between two bites. “You hadn’t realized yet? You’ve always made a point of being a brick wall, but he shook you out of your comfort zone big time. You clear up your schedule within a minute notice for him, and for what, for playing tourist in your own country. Hell, he dragged you to Babel! You remember how our team couldn’t even convince you to join us at karaoke, because it was, and I quote… ‘Too noisy?’ and you followed Yur-I mean Yuki inside a techno club! If that’s not love, that’s masochism.”

Hiromi exhaled. “He brought you to your knees.”

Kai’s jaw clenched. “We’re not together.”

“Does it really matter? Love comes in all forms. You don’t have to be in a relationship to feel it.”

Kai remained silent, now deeply uncomfortable.

Hiromi spotted Yuriy coming back to their table, and she wrapped, “I just hope for your sake that he loves you back. Because there is no pain like confessing your feelings and being met with silence.”


End file.
